On the sorry state of Sunderland

“I feel sad for Sunderland supporters at the state of their club - but not for the people at the top who have caused the chaos.

“I know there is a lot of North-east rivalry and banter between us but at the end of the day they are just like Boro fans. They love their club, they are proud and passionate and they spend a lot of money following them around the country.

“But the fans there have been dumped on from above by the owners and suits who have totally mismanaged the club.

“Sunderland have been sliding towards this chaos since the day big Niall Quinn departed. He was a real football man and loved the club. He knew the club and what it meant to the town and the supporters.

Sunderland manager Simon Grayson

“Now the club is run by businessmen who have made a mess. They have got through loads of managers, loads of players and loads of money and have nothing to show for it. They may as well have burnt the cash.

“But although I feel sorry for the Mackem fans I want to see Boro rub salt in their wounds on Sunday. Of course I do.

“It is a great time for Boro to play them. They are managerless, they are rudderless and they are in woeful form and morale will be low.

“It is a golden opportunity for Boro to get at them, rack up another three points and give the Teesside fans the bragging rights.”

Have Boro ‘clicked?’

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say the team have clicked just because they have beaten two teams from the bottom half of the table but the past week has been encouraging.

“Boro were rightly under pressure because it has been a slow start to the season. They haven’t really started yet and results have not been good enough, especially at home.

“Leadbitter brings experience, grit and determination, leadership and he pops up with a goal when the pressure is on, as he has done this week from the penalty spot. You need all that in a team.

“But is no surprise to me that he has come in and Adam Clayton has dropped out: for me you can’t play them both in the same team if you want to play attacking football. It’s one or the other.

“They worked together well under Aitor Karanka but that was a far more defensive style. Look, if I was a centre-back I’d want them two in front of me - but if I was a centre-forward I wouldn’t want them behind me. They don’t create enough.”

Could Braithwaite outscore Assombalonga?

“Britt Assombalonga scored at Reading and Hull. He is a natural predator and you need that to be a successful team.

“In a tight game you may only get one or two half-chances and you a guy up front who you can trust to take them.

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“In Britt Assombalonga we have a guy who is hungry for goals and he’s got eight so far in 15 and that’s fantastic.

“But watch out for Martin Braithwaite. For me he could be just as effective up front. I think he can get as many goals. Maybe more.

Middlesbrough's Martin Braithwaite scores the opening goal at Hull

“I’m intrigued by Braithwaite. I love to watch him play. Technically he is the better player without doubt.

“Sometimes forwards can be scruffy and ungainly. That doesn’t matter if they score.

“But Braithwaite is smooth. He is elegant. He is neat. He is intelligent. You can see he eases through games with superb touches and great movement and he has scored three in seven after missing a spell with injury.

“Once he gets up to speed he will get better. If he can keep that strike rate up over the season he could surprise a few people as to how many he gets. If he gets it right he could score more than Assombalonga.”

Who is Boro’s best ever striker?

“I saw that Gordon Jones picked out Alan Peacock as the best Boro striker he has ever seen and that’s fair enough.

“Gordon has seen all the greats over the years and I respect his opinion and Alan Peacock has a great record at Boro.

“But you know, there are only 10 players who scored more than 100 goals for Boro and I’m above Alan in the list.

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“That’s not to say I was a better player. Technically I might not have been. I used to get a lot of criticism as a player, that I was too slow or that I didn’t know the offside law or whatever.

“But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and whether one striker or another is the best is all about opinion. I’m not going to argue against anyone’s opinion. All I can bring to the table is my goal stats and they are not opinion, they are facts.

British Home Championship match at Wembley Stadium. England 2 v Northern Ireland 1. The second goal for England scored by Alan Peacock 10th November 1965.

“Who do I think was Boro’s best striker? Well I seen some great ones but they haven’t all stuck around long enough for us to see the best of them or for them to get in the record books.

“Boksic was brilliant. His touch, his movement, his eye for goal... everything about him was amazing - but he didn’t play enough games.

“Viduka was excellent. He could hold up the ball, had strength, control, could shoot, could create but again, didn’t play enough.

“Yakubu was all power and strength and a thundering shot and was part of a great three pronged attack.

“And Ravanelli; I loved Ravanelli. He was colourful and eccentric and fiery and you might not want to be in the same dressing room as him but he was a natural finisher and a great athlete and had the best celebration I’ve even seem.

“Technically all those guys were all better than me - but count the goals.”